I think it is a matter of the album not coming out in time to qualify. Looking back, U2 cleaned up at the 2002 ceremonies but only got two awards in 2001. Perhaps U2 isn't nominated for best band and Bono for best singer this year because so many Irish bands and artists are coming up and U2 has been off the radar for a while. Even though it would be nice for U2 to win at all the awards shows all the time, it's nice to see that there are so many more Irish bands out there and that U2 is no longer the token Irish band.